Poor putting does in Donald

They took Luke Donald's cell phone away Saturday night to insulate the Englishman from the well-wishers who were constantly calling and texting on the eve of the biggest day of his golfing life.

Then someone among Donald's inner circle suggested a movie so the golfer could spend some time "trying not to think" about being tied with Tiger Woods heading into the final round of the PGA Championship, according to his mental coach, Jim Fannin.

So Donald went to see "Snakes on a Plane." For a couple of hours, he forgot all about Tiger on the brink.

When he arrived early Sunday afternoon at Medinah Country Club for a tee time that is more like an expiration date for Woods' playing partners in the final round of a major, Donald resembled cool-hand Luke more than a guy whose usually steady putter would fail him.

"It's obviously a lot of pressure," Donald said after his 2-over-par 74 left him in a disappointing tie for third. "But it didn't cause me to hit too many bad swings. . . . I couldn't get the putts to drop. If those went in, it might have been a different story."

Instead, the story reads like another golfing obituary of the player paired with Woods in the final round of a major. After Donald saw makable putts on holes Nos. 4, 5 and 6 just miss by lipping out, Woods already was 3 under on the day. At that point, one of the two dozen reporters following the duo Sunday scribbled in his notebook, "R.I.P., Luke."

"It was a little deflating," Donald said. "After that, I just tried to play one shot at a time, not get too upset."

To his credit, Donald never looked flustered. Wearing a white visor over his blond hair and a red shirt that looked like it was borrowed out of Woods' Sunday closet--a fashion statement Woods kidded about afterward--Donald savored every step of the 7,561-yard course.

Support group

Down every fairway, the gallery urged the former Northwestern golfer with chants of "Luuuuuuke!" and "Go, Wildcats." After his first bogey at No. 4, a fan in a purple T-shirt shouted, "Don't worry, you'll get it back, Luke." On his way to No. 6, a young woman yelled, "You're so cute." Donald only seemed to take the grin off his face when he addressed the ball, even chuckling at No. 7 when a smart aleck shouted, "Go, Illini!"

"It was good fun," Donald said. "I was obviously very disappointed to have shot 74."

Of the top 15 finishers, only Geoff Ogilvy shot that high in the final round. Asked about the "Tiger factor" afterward, Donald said it had more to do with Woods' game than his effect on other golfers. But his brother and caddie, Christian, didn't rule it out. "Luke's pretty mentally strong, but maybe there is such a thing," Christian said.

Face to face with Tiger

Numbers leave little doubt that when Woods tees off in the final round on a Sunday of a major, his only real opponent is history.

In 12 majors, Woods' final-round playing partners average 72.91, and only two have shot in the 60s. For golfers in the position Donald found himself in Sunday, playing with Woods is like being awake for your own surgery and watching Tiger make the incision one iron at a time.

Retief Goosen, who was tied with Woods heading into the final day of the 2002 Masters only to post a 74 on Sunday, acknowledged how hard it can be "blocking out the spectators and everything that comes with it."

Said Chris DiMarco: "You walk to the first tee with Tiger and you'd think all the pressure would be on him because he's expected to win, but it's just the opposite. You feel enormous pressure. It's the fact that you have to go face-to-face with Tiger and he's a pretty intimidating guy, no doubt about it."

Donald left no doubt that he thinks he will be paired again with Woods with a major tournament on the line.

He learned from watching Woods keep his feelings under wraps. He realized that he made mistakes that can't be made on Sundays of majors, the biggest of them being too cautious with the scores so low.

Those around Donald believe he might win a major because of the way he lost this one.

"When you're new to this you have a feeling you have to do more than you need to do," said Fannin, the noted mental coach who received a big hug from Donald afterward. "How do you prepare for a day like this? Well, it is to have many days like this. Expect to tee off late on Sunday every week and get comfortable and hide in the crowd. It was hard to hide in the crowd today."

Indeed, on Donald's walk up the 18th fairway, the hometown gallery greeted Donald warmly and included more fans of Woods' playing partner than a typical Sunday. He respectfully waited for Woods to tip his cap first before raising his visor to thank fans for four days of support.

"Now he wants to be the best in the world," Fannin said. "To do that, you have to beat the best in the world."

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In the Woods

Playing in the final round with Tiger Woods means nothing but trouble for the other guy. Here's a look at five of the biggest final-round struggles for Woods' playing partners.

2006

PGA Championship

Luke Donald. Started day even, shot 74 to finish in three-way tie for third.

British Open

Sergio Garcia. Began day one shot behind Woods, shot 73 at Hoylake.

2002

U.S. Open

Sergio Garcia. Started day four shots back at 1 under and shot 74 to finish fourth at Bethpage Black.

Masters

Retief Goosen. Began day even with with Woods, shot 74 to lose by three.

1999

PGA Championship

Mike Weir. Began last major at Medinah tied with Woods and ended with disastrous 80.